Weather has always been one of the most unpredictable components of food production. Drought, floods, heat, and frost are made worse by weather-driven crop diseases and insects.

Thanks to breakthroughs that merged the sciences of agronomy and climatology, food producers can now base crop decisions for the next year on global climate patterns.

Climate and Crops, a new iBook from Alabama Extension at Auburn University, is the nation’s first guide to farming in a variable climate. The iBook was released at the American Society of Agronomy meeting November 6-9, 2016 in Phoenix.

The book identifies major weather patterns of El Niño and La Niña climate phases, identifies the threats to crops in each phase, and offers control options for diseases and insects.

The iBook is the result of a joint effort of 25 scientists and Cooperative Extension experts from four of the South’s leading research universities, including: Auburn University, Florida State University, the University of Florida and the University of Georgia.